Fonterra leaders endorse two new director candidates

It’s not clear whether retiring director Leonie Guiney did not seek re-election or failed to make the cut after assessment by the independent nomination process. Taranaki director David MacLeod is retiring from the board.

Sitting director John Monaghan was endorsed by the independent selection panel; the two new candidates are agribusiness leader Andy Macfarlane and PricewaterhouseCoopers partner Brent Goldsack.

A statement issued by Fonterra Shareholders Council, on behalf of returning officer Warwick Lampp, says Monaghan, Macfarlane and Goldsack were nominated by the Fonterra Board after being recommended by the independent panel; their nominations are also supported by the Shareholders Council.

The statement did not say whether Guiney will self-nominate for the board elections.

As a result of the changes to Fonterra’s governance and representation approved by shareholder vote in October last year, the Fonterra directors’ election process includes two nomination options: the independent nomination process and the self-nomination process.

The self-nomination process, where farmers can stand as a candidate for the board with the support of 35 different shareholders, is now open. Nominations close on Thursday, September 21.

The full list of candidates for the board elections will be announced on September 25.

Guiney, who farms in Fairlie, was elected to the board in 2014; MacLeod, the chairman of Taranaki Regional Council, was elected to in 2011.